Professions and vocations: Bureau of Real Estate, Bureau of Real Estate Appraisers, and Bureau of Security and Investigative Services.

(1) Existing law provides for the regulation, by the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services within the Department of Consumer Affairs, of locksmiths and the employees of locksmiths, repossessors, private investigators, private patrol operators, armored contract carriers, firearms and baton training facilities, and employees of those licensees, alarm company operators and alarm agents, and proprietary security services. Existing law prescribes various fees and fines in connection with the regulation of these professions and vocations and provides for the deposit of the majority of these fees and fines into the Private Security Services Fund. Existing law also establishes the Professions and Vocations Fund, which consists of certain funds. Existing law provides that fine, penalty, and cost recovery moneys in any fund within the Professions and Vocations Fund are available only upon appropriation by the Legislature. This bill would subject the bureau to review by the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature. The bill would also provide that the Private Security Services Fund is a fund in the Professions and Vocations Fund. (2) The Collateral Recovery Act provides for the licensure and regulation of repossession agencies by the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services and prohibits the use of an alias in connection with the official activities of a licensed repossession agency's business. This bill would instead prohibit the use of a business name other than the name of a licensed repossession agency in connection with the official activities of the licensee's business. (3) The Private Investigator Act provides for the licensure and regulation of private investigators by the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services. Until January 1, 2018, the act provides for the licensure of limited liability companies under the act and requires the application for licensure of a limited liability company to be subscribed, verified, and signed by a duly authorized member of the applicant under penalty of perjury. The act also requires a licensee to notify the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services within 30 days of any change in its corporate officers or any addition of a new partner. This bill would additionally require the application for licensure of a limited liability company to be subscribed, verified, and signed by the qualified manager of the applicant. By expanding the scope of the crime of perjury, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill, among other things, would also require a licensee to notify the bureau within 30 days of any change in members required to be named in a corporation's or limited liability corporation's application for licensure. (4) The Private Investigator Act prohibits a licensed private investigator and qualified manager who, in the course of his or her employment or business, carries a deadly weapon from carrying or using a firearm unless he or she has in his or her possession a valid firearms qualification card and requires the licensed private investigator and qualified manager to comply with, and be subject to, specified provisions. This bill would authorize a licensed private investigator and qualified manager who possesses a valid firearms qualification card to also carry a concealed firearm if he or she satisfies specified conditions. The bill would also require, if a firearms qualification card is denied, the denial to be in writing, include the basis for the denial, and inform the applicant of his or her right to contest the denial. (5) The Alarm Company Act requires that specified agreements entered into by an alarm company pertaining to alarm systems, including, among others, lease agreements, monitoring agreements, service agreements, and installation agreements, be in writing and include specified items. This bill would additionally require initial agreements entered into on or after January 1, 2017, that contain an automatic renewal provision for a period of more than one month to disclose and describe the automatic renewal provision, as provided. (6) The Private Security Services Act provides, among other matters, for the licensure and regulation of private patrol operators by the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services and makes a violation of its provisions a crime. Under that act, a person required to be registered as a security guard must report to his or her employer, within 24 hours of the incident, the circumstances surrounding the discharge of any firearm in which he or she is involved while acting within the course and scope of his or her employment. That act requires a person required to be registered as a security guard to carry a valid and current security guard registration card on his or her person, while on duty, and also requires a person registered as a security guard or patrolperson to deliver to the Director of Consumer Affairs and to local law enforcement a written report describing the circumstances surrounding the discharge of a firearm in which he or she was involved while acting within the course of his or her employment, within 7 days of the incident. This bill would additionally impose the reporting duties upon the employer of the security guard or patrolperson. The bill would authorize a person required to be registered as a security guard, while pending receipt of the security guard registration card after the bureau's approval, to be on duty if the person carries on his or her person both a hardcopy printout of the approved security guard registration information from the bureau's Internet Web site and a valid picture identification. (7) Existing law requires security guards, security patrolpersons, alarm company operators, and other specified persons to complete specified courses, acquire specified licenses, and be subject to specified provisions relating to their duties and relating to the carrying and use of a firearm or baton, as provided. This bill would exempt from those provisions a federal qualified law enforcement officer, as defined. (8) Existing law requires the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services to issue a firearms permit to a private patrol operator, alarm company operator, or other specified licensee when certain conditions are satisfied, including that the applicant has filed with the bureau a classifiable fingerprint card and that the bureau has determined, after investigation, that the carrying and use of a firearm by the applicant, in the course of his or her duties, presents no apparent threat to the public safety. Existing law prohibits a person required to be registered as a security guard from carrying or using a firearm unless he or she possesses a valid and current firearms permit and requires that person to carry the permit on his or her person when carrying a firearm on duty. This bill would provide for the association of a firearms permit with the license or registration of the applicant, as specified. The bill would authorize an applicant for a firearms permit to, in lieu of submitting a classifiable fingerprint card, submit fingerprints into an electronic fingerprinting system administered by the Department of Justice, as specified. The bill would require an applicant for a firearms permit who is a registered security guard to complete a specified assessment to determine whether or not the applicant, at the point in time of the assessment, is capable of exercising appropriate judgment, restraint, and self-control for the purposes of carrying and using a firearm during the course of his or her security guard duties, as provided. The bill would prohibit the bureau from issuing or renewing a firearm permit to an applicant who has been found incapable of exercising appropriate judgment, restraint, and self-control pursuant to the assessment in the past 12 months, as specified. The bill would authorize the appeal of the denial of a firearms permit or firearms qualification card on the basis of the results of the assessment. The bill would authorize the bureau to seek an emergency order against the holder of a firearms permit if, after investigation relating to specific events, the bureau determines that the holder of the permit presents an undue hazard to public safety. The bill would prohibit licensees or registrants with firearms permits from carrying or using a firearm while performing duties not related to the qualifying license or registration to which the bureau associated the licensee's or registrant's firearms permit. The bill would authorize a person required to be registered as a security guard, while pending receipt of the firearms permit after the bureau's approval, to carry a firearm while on duty if the person carries on his or her person both a hardcopy printout of the approved firearms permit information from the bureau's Internet Web site and a valid picture identification. (9) Existing law provides that any institution, firm, or individual wishing the approval of the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services to offer the firearms course must complete an application for certification as a firearms training facility, as specified. This bill would require the bureau, within 120 days after issuance of a "Firearms Training Facility Certificate," to inspect the facility for compliance with the specified requirements. The bill would authorize the bureau to inspect the facility prior to the issuance of a certificate. The bill would also require the bureau to maintain a program of random and targeted inspections of facilities to ensure compliance with applicable laws relating to the conduct and operation of facilities and to inform facilities when the bureau determines that the facility is not in compliance with the above-mentioned laws. (10) The Collateral Recovery Act, the Private Investigator Act, the Private Security Services Act, and the Alarm Company Act impose, or authorize the imposition of, various fines and civil penalties, or suspend various licenses or permits issued pursuant to those acts, for violations of specified provisions of those acts. This bill would revise specified fine amounts, civil penalty amounts, and suspensions for violations of specified provisions of the Collateral Recovery Act, the Private Investigator Act, the Private Security Services Act, and the Alarm Company Act. (11) The Private Investigator Act, the Private Security Services Act, and the Alarm Company Act require specified licensees and applicants for licensure to, as a condition of the issuance, reinstatement, reactivation, or continued valid use of a license, maintain policies of insurance against liability for damages arising out of activities for which licensure is required pursuant to those acts, as specified. This bill would require the insurer of those policies of insurance to list the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services as the certificate holder for the purposes of receiving notifications related to the policy's status. The bill, until January 1, 2019, would provide for the automatic suspension, after 30-days' written notice, of a licensee under the Alarm Company Act for failure to maintain sufficient insurance or failure to provide proof of required insurance upon request by the bureau, as specified. (12) Existing law, the Real Estate Law, provides for the licensure and regulation of real estate brokers and real estate salespersons by the Real Estate Commissioner, the chief officer of the Bureau of Real Estate within the Department of Consumer Affairs. That law authorizes the commissioner to suspend or revoke the license of a real estate licensee if the licensee has entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to, or been found guilty of, or been convicted of, a felony, or a crime substantially related to the qualifications, functions, or duties of a real estate licensee, and the time for appeal has elapsed or the judgment of conviction has been affirmed on appeal, or other conditions are met. Existing law, the Real Estate Appraisers' Licensing and Certification Law, provides for the licensure, certification, and regulation of real estate appraisers and appraisal management companies by the Bureau of Real Estate Appraisers within the Department of Consumer Affairs, which is headed by the Chief of the Bureau of Real Estate Appraisers. That law requires the chief to adopt regulations governing the process and the procedure of applying for a real estate appraiser's license and requires these regulations to include, among others, necessary experience or education and the submittal of an applicant's social security number. To substantiate appraisal experience or to facilitate investigations, existing law requires licensees, applicants, and persons acting in a capacity that requires a license to submit copies of appraisals or any other work product, as specified, and all supporting documentation. A willful violation of these laws is a crime. This bill would subject the Bureau of Real Estate and the Bureau of Real Estate Appraisers to review by the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature, as specified. The bill would further authorize the Real Estate Commissioner to suspend the license of a real estate license upon the entry of a guilty plea by the licensee to any of the crimes described above. The bill would require the rescission of the suspension if the plea is withdrawn. The bill would further require the Chief of the Bureau of Real Estate Appraisers to require, as part of the educational requirements for applicants for licensure, the completion of a course on state and federal laws regulating the appraisal profession, as specified, and would additionally authorize the submittal of an applicant's individual taxpayer identification number. The bill would additionally require those licensees, applicants, and persons acting in a capacity that requires a license to submit copies of engagement letters. Because the willful failure to submit those engagement letters would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (13) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.